RTÉ director general Dee Forbes has resigned “with immediate effect” following controversy surrounding a payments scandal that has engulfed the broadcaster since last week.
In a statement on Monday morning, Ms Forbes said: “I regret very much the upset and adverse publicity suffered by RTÉ, its staff and the unease created among the public in recent days. As director general, I am the person ultimately accountable for what happens within the organisation and I take that responsibility seriously. I am tendering my resignation to RTÉ with immediate effect.”
She traced the controversy back to cost savings that were delivered for RTÉ in 2020 which followed “detailed discussions including numerous internal communications over many months with RTÉ colleagues, including finance and legal colleagues”.
She added “I did not at any stage act contrary to any advice”, and criticised the board’s approach to her since the controversy erupted.
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“I want to reiterate that I have engaged fully with the board during this process. However, the board has not treated me with anything approaching the levels of fairness, equity and respect that anyone should expect as an employee, a colleague or a person. All of this has had a very serious and ongoing impact on my health and wellbeing.”
The national broadcaster has been in turmoil since revelations last week that it paid presenter Ryan Tubridy undeclared top-ups of €345,000 in addition to his reported salary since 2017.
Mr Tubridy will not present his radio show on Monday morning, having been told last week by RTÉ management that he was being kept off the air for editorial reasons. It is understood that a decision about whether he will return next week will be made by station executives in the coming days.
The three party leaders will discuss the RTÉ situation at their weekly meeting this evening before the Minister for Arts and Media, Catherine Martin, briefs her Cabinet colleagues on Tuesday, when she is expected to give details of an external review of corporate governance and culture at the station.
On Wednesday, RTÉ executives will face the first of two Oireachtas committees who are investigating the scandal, when they appear at the Arts and Media Committee followed by the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday.
It is expected that both committees will seek an explanation from RTÉ representatives this week on the apparent discrepancy between the €230,000 paid to a British media consultancy by RTÉ and the €150,000 received by Ryan Tubridy in salary top-ups for 2021 and 2022. The British company, Astus, arranges for companies to pay for part of their advertising bills through supplying goods or services.
In her statement, Ms Forbes said: “I have engaged with and consistently co-operated with the processes directed towards answering questions surrounding payments to Ryan Tubridy. Much of the information in the Grant Thornton report furnished to the board of RTÉ has emerged in recent days. There are a number of points which I think are important to emphasise.
“In early 2020 RTÉ began discussions around the renewal of Ryan Tubridy’s contract. That contract contained contractual payments that had been negotiated and put in place prior to my arrival at RTÉ. Discussions on the new contract were taking place in the context of major organisational challenges and a commitment from the RTÉ executive board to the board and the Government to reduce the fees paid to RTÉ's top talent by a further 15 per cent overall as part of a wider cost cutting strategy.
“As director general, I led the discussions with the agent for Ryan Tubridy together with other RTÉ senior executives. We were keen to make a cost saving for RTÉ in respect of a contractual payment which was due to be paid. At the same time, we were attempting to retain Ryan Tubridy’s services as a valued presenter and negotiate a new contract, with the agreed 15 per cent cost cutting target in mind. In an effort to find a solution to the budgetary challenges, we explored if a long serving commercial partner might take on a commercial relationship directly with Ryan Tubridy.”
Ms Forbes said that following detailed discussions over many months an agreement was reached “which delivered cost savings for RTÉ”. She said the agreement meant a commercial partner would enter a separate commercial agreement with Tubridy in exchange for the provision of three events annually.
“Following detailed discussions including numerous internal communications over many months with RTÉ colleagues, including finance and legal colleagues, an agreement was reached which delivered cost savings for RTÉ. This agreement meant that the commercial partner would enter into a separate commercial contract with Ryan Tubridy for €75,000 in exchange for the provision of three events annually.
“As a result of the negotiated cost saving agreement, RTÉ would no longer be liable for a contractual payment that was due in 2020. This new commercial agreement required that RTÉ guarantee and underwrite the €75,000 payments.
“The commercial partner agreed to this new business relationship with Ryan Tubridy, but they required the change to be cost neutral, as they were in the final year of a three-year sponsorship contract and this was done by issuing a credit note for €75,000 against their airtime.
“I did not at any stage act contrary to any advice. Unfortunately, the pandemic restrictions meant that the commitment to the commercial client could not be met in 2020 and 2021 and was only delivered in 2022. The commercial partner informed us that the commercial arrangement was not going to work for them in the long term. At this point, only one €75k payment had been made.
“Payment was sought for the 2021 and 2022 contractual commitments that now fell to RTÉ under the guarantee even though RTÉ had never expected to become liable for them and had not budgeted for them. Because of the commercial nature of the arrangement, it was decided to pay the invoices from the commercial barter account which was in credit. We were motivated purely by the need to find a solution to honour the contractual obligation.
“At all times, I and the representatives of RTÉ acted in good faith. I fully accept and acknowledge responsibility for my part in these events as director general.
“This statement is directed to the events of 2020-2022. I understand from media reports and RTÉ's statement that the Board has raised questions concerning payments to Ryan Tubridy between 2017-2019. I have no knowledge of those payments and the board has not raised those questions with me.
“Finally, I want to reiterate that I have engaged fully with the board during this process. However, the board has not treated me with anything approaching the levels of fairness, equity and respect that anyone should expect as an employee, a colleague or a person. All of this has had a very serious and ongoing impact on my health and wellbeing.
“I am deeply sorry for what has happened and my part in this episode and for that I apologise unreservedly to everyone.
“I care very deeply about RTÉ, the people who work for it, the public it serves, its mission, values, its unique position as a public service broadcaster and its reputation. I will continue to do so as RTÉ moves forward under the new director general.”
Ms Forbes has been invited to appear in front of two Oireachtas Committees this week - the Media Committee on Wednesday and Public Accounts Committee on Thursday. It is unclear at this stage if that will happen given her resignation.
Sinn Féin TD Imelda Munster said Ms Forbes is no longer compelled to go to either Oireachtas committee as a result of her resignation, but she should attend voluntarily.
When asked if the committee should hear from Noel Kelly, she said politicians need to hear from members of the executive board of RTÉ first.”
Junior minister Neale Richmond said her statement “raises more questions than it provides answers” about the nature of the affair.
Presenter Audrey Carville suggested there was still no explanation from why licence-payers were “lied to, misled about Ryan Tubridy’s actual pay.”
